Libra and Multiterminais invest R$ 1 billion in expansions of the port area of Rio

Posted on March 12, 2015

The Libra and Multiterminais groups will invest R$ 1 billion in their container terminals until 2016, in an expansion project that includes jetty and retroareas expansion, contruction of new buildings and equipment purchase. The first phase of those expansions is already operational. With the Libra and Multiterminais investments, the two companies’ terminals in Rio will have together the capacity to move annually, 1,6 million TEUs (20ft container). That represents a 74% increase in volume from its previous capacity, which was 920.000 TEUs. The terminals will also have a continuous jetty 1.875 meters long, 62% longer than the 1.155 meters previous to the expansion.

Marcelo Araujo, president of Grupo Libra, Said that the investments were motivated by the tendency of shipping companies to operate with increasingly larger vessels. Tem years ago, the terminals managed to receive simultaneously two container ships 250 meters long each. Today, container ships are 300 meters long at least, and in some cases, close to 400 meters long. According to the executive, the economic growth also played a big role in the decision to expand, as well as the large-scale events scheduled in Rio, such as the Olympic Games and the pre-salt exploration. Although today the economic scenario is different, with low growth rate and a drop in oil prices, Libra and Multiterminais understand that the resources allocated to the expansions surpass the economic cycle in the short term. “It’s an investment considering the long term”, he said.

Luiz Henrique Carneiro, president of MultRio and Multicar, companies belonging to Multiterminais, said that, without the expansions, the container terminals in Rio would become limited to, in terms of docking bays, to receive one ship at a time. “If we didn’t do anything, we’d become a one dock container terminal”, he said. For the president of Companhia Docas do Rio de Janeiro (CDRJ), Helio Szmajser, the Libra and Multiterminais expansions are “vital” for the porto of Rio.

Libra and Multiterminais are investing in these expansions out of their own resources and through loans, including from the National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) and other sources, such as a R$ 270 million debenture emitted by Libra. Besides the private investments made by the two companies, there are also predictions of approximately R$ 800 million in public works to improve the sea and land access to the city harbor, but only part of those resources are under way.

These expansions were made possible after the companies were able to, in 2011, anticipate the renewal of their terminal concessions with the Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (Antaq). On the other hand, the companies committed themselves with the expansions. The concessions for the container terminals belonging to Libra and MultiRio run through 2048, and the MultiCar concession for the vehicle terminal expires in 2052.